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SALEM — Salem Hills offensive lineman Doug Julian was going to be a senior, a team captain and a leader for the Skyhawks' football season.
Then tragedy struck Aug. 5, the day before his 18th birthday, on a Boy Scout trip.
Julian was hiking in the High Uintas when he began feeling faint and sick. He died shortly thereafter of apparent altitude sickness.
His teammates have used the occasion to rally around Julian's family, his parents Doug Sr. and Tracy, and the Skyhawks' student body.
"This is his helmet; I turned it in and they gave it back to me," Doug Sr. told KSL Sports before Salem Hills' 38-31 win over Ben Lomond last Friday night. "The coach took it around and had the team sign it, and gave it back to me.
"This will be cherished."
On the first play of the game, the Skyhawks lined up unavailable to play. They intentionally took a delay-of-game penalty in Doug's honor.
Banners adorned the Skyhawks' field all night. Doug was included in the Skyhawk Legacy Landing, which honors senior players and cheerleaders for their service in the community.
Doug's No. 71 was everywhere.
No gesture can replace the loss of a beloved son taken too soon in a tragic accident, but they can go a long way toward healing.
"It is good to know that people care about you, and it is good to find out some of the stuff my son was doing that I had no idea," Doug Sr. said. "He was doing good, and I didn't know. I am proud of him for that.
"He was just a friend to the friendless; he would always find the one that needed it. He would find ways to uplift them. He would come up to some kid who was smaller than him — and most kids were smaller — and he'd grab his bicep and say, 'Dude, you're looking large today.'"
Being at the game was hard for Doug Sr. and Tracy. It was also hard for the Skyhawks' football team, playing a game that meant so much to their friend and brother in arms.
But from the moment they found out about the accident on Aug. 5, there was no other place to go but toward one another. The team gathered the Sunday night after Doug's passing for a birthday party in his honor.
"The first thing you think of (are) these boys and how they are handling it," Salem Hills head coach Harry Schwenke said. "So that is why it was important to get together here at the school hours later — to get everyone together and mourn together."
There is one place where things can feel just a little bit normal: on the field Friday nights, scoring touchdowns and winning games. The Skyhawks hope to do plenty of that in a season dedicated to Doug and his family.
"If we don't want to do something, put it in the back of our mind and do it for Doug," tight end Jacob Rolfe said. "We have a hashtag — Do It For Doug. If someone doesn't want to finish a run, do it for Doug."
Football teams are often described as a family. In the case of Salem Hills, it has become a source of inspiration for one family and one community. Doug Sr. said the Julians donated part of the money from his son's personal savings account to the team.
